Innholdsfortegnelse for April/May 2024 i Cruise & Travel

Growing up in the American south-west, I recall Houston being called the Bayou City. The Buffalo Bayou runs through the city and ultimately empties into the Burnet Bay, near the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site, so you can see why the moniker makes sense. Fast forward to 2024, and you’ll find a bustling coastal city that offers a smorgasburg of art, culture, history and some of the best ethnic food in the USA. If you’re visiting Houston for the day on a cruise you’ll head here from the port of Galveston – about an hour away. Head first to the museum district, home to 19 museums, including the Museum of Fine Art, Contemporary Art, Houston Museum of Natural Science, the Moody Arts Center, and the Rothko Chapel. All offer…

LUXURY CRUISING Stretching out languidly on an in-pool lounger, decadent champagne cocktail in hand, as tempting turquoise waters gently lapping around me, I figured that this was a suitably fitting first taste of the superyacht lifestyle. Admittedly, this was a rather larger craft than some of the glitzy gin palaces I’d often gawped at enviously in the jet-set Cote d’Azur ports of Monte Carlo and Cannes, but there’s simply no disguising the glamorous cache of Evrima, the first mega-yacht launched by upmarket hotel chain Ritz-Carlton. Making its debut in October 2022 under the umbrella of The Ritz-Carlton Yacht Collection, this newcomer had promised to bring the world of hotel hospitality to the oceans, attracting loyal patrons reluctant to dip their toes into cruising waters without the reassurance of this luxury…

The passengers and crew of the MS Fridtjof Nansen stand around me on the front deck, frantically waving and shouting at the 20,000-ton ship heading straight towards us. It’s August in the High Arctic, and I’m onboard one of HX’s newest expedition ships, as we navigate our way through one of the world’s least-chartered waterways: the Northwest Passage. Connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans via the Arctic Ocean, it’s a route that defeated explorers for more than 400 years, before a team led by Norwegian polar legend, Roald Amundsen, made it through on the Gjøa, taking three years to master the maze of more than 36,500 islands in the Canadian Archipelago and reaching Alaska, with the help of the local Inuits, in 1906. The fates of these thwarted seafarers flash…

ESSENTIALS With four decks instead of the usual three, plus a sun deck, the 280-passenger A-ROSA SENA has plenty of stand-out features you won’t find anywhere else. Accommodation on the game-changing river ship, which sails on the Rhine, includes 12 spacious family cabins sleeping up to five, which are situated on the lower deck next to the Treasure Island-themed kids’ club. Elsewhere, there are 119 balcony cabins, seven suites and two rooms for passengers with limited mobility. Out on the deck, there are separate pools for adults and youngsters. This year, there are swimming lessons for beginners, and children that can already swim, on sailings departing 27 July and 3 and 10 August. EXPERIENCE The bright and welcoming ship is focused squarely on multigenerational family fun, with something for everyone.…

ZLATNI RAT BEACH, CROATIA Buffeted daily by the wind and the waves, Zlatni Rat beach on the island of Brac in Croatia is famous for its tongue-like appearance, making it one of the most photographed beaches in Europe. The white-pebbled beach extends on a slender peninsula for 500 metres into the sea, with its shape changing daily according to weather patterns and tides. You’ll find this Insta-friendly beach around 2km from the buzzy town of Bol, and it’s an easy walk here along a lovely tree-lined promenade. Once you’ve arrived, you can choose which side of the 900 metres of beach you’d like to sit on. On a typical day, the mornings are breezy, with the wind reaching its peak in the early afternoon before dying down, so choose the…

Whether you want to explore your favourite European country in depth, or fancy visiting three or four countries in one go, a Mediterranean cruise is the perfect way to make it happen. With stunning scenery, great cuisine, world-class culture and centuries of history, there’s always something new to discover along the Med’s 46,000km coastline. By choosing a smaller ship, you’ll be able to access less mainstream ports, while the big ships will give you access to a wide range of excursion choices, so you can always visit a favourite place and try something new. Summer 2024 looks set to be a great year for Mediterranean cruises, with the leading cruise lines working hard to offer exciting new itineraries, new port stops and some great entertainment onboard. So, read on to…

MILAN KATANIC EXECUTIVE CELLAR MASTER, OCEANIA CRUISES “I was raised in a hospitality environment in Serbia, as my father ran nightclubs and restaurants, where I spent most my teenage years working as a waiter and bartender. This taught me about wines, so I took courses to become a sommelier before joining Oceania Cruises, where I get to help our guests enjoy our vast cellars of wine. I’ve worked for the company for the past eight years, becoming Executive Cellar Master in 2021 and I currently work onboard Oceania Vista. One of the most enjoyable parts of my job is helping guests with their wine pairings for lunch and dinner. Behind the scenes, I’ve sat down with the ship’s chefs to find the perfect pairings, so I have lots of knowledge…

I’d like to treat my wife to a special cruise for her 50th birthday. Can you give me any great suggestions on how to impress her? James, Bristol Chris Townson, MD UK & Europe, Uniworld Boutique River Cruises, says: While all our cruises are special, my suggestion would be a luxury river cruise in the heart of Venice, because it will allow you to be fully immersed in the romance and history of the city, all in ultimate style. On a Uniworld cruise, you’ll be offered VIP experiences like a private visit to St Mark’s Basilica in the evening when all the crowds have gone, or access to the Doge’s Palace before it opens to the public. These exclusive moments really take the experience up to another level. We sail…

There are only a handful of countries that you can circumnavigate in a matter of hours and St Kitts, an impossibly beautiful island in the eastern Caribbean Sea, is one of these. Our journey on the St Kitts Scenic Railway began at the Needsmust Train Station, a rural depot just outside of the capital Basseterre, where five double-decker carriages were already waiting. On the air-conditioned lower deck, rattan seats facing huge vaulted windows are designed to maximise comfort and the jaw-dropping view. The upper deck, where I sat on banquettes sheltered by a light canopy, was open to the elements and the 30°C heat. Not that I minded. Once we got moving, heavily rum-spiked drinks appeared on tap, while a steady breeze cooled the air. Around me, the mesmerising landscape…

You can enjoy a picturesque drive from Milwaukee to Toronto in under 12 hours, covering 600 miles and skirting the shores of Lake Michigan, then continuing into Canada. But while the road will get you there relatively quickly, you’d miss some of the best scenic cruising North America has to offer: The Great Lakes. I was filled with excitement as I touched down at Chicago Airport, not just because I was about to spend a week on an expedition ship, Viking Octantis, but also because I was eager to explore some new cities and towns that as UK travellers, we often overlook for favourites such as New York, Miami or Los Angeles. Take Milwaukee – the departure point for my eight-day adventure – as an example. All I really knew…

Setting off on your travels alone can be a somewhat intimidating prospect – even if you’re taking a cruise, which is one of the most solo-friendly holidays out there. Yet the rise of social media promises to quell worries about forging friendships at sea (or on rivers), as it enables cruisers to strike up contact with other passengers before they’ve even walked up the gangway. Cruise ships are already a natural partner for single travellers when it comes to meeting other like-minded souls, thanks to the sociable nature of cruising with the onboard camaraderie – which is particularly prevalent on smaller ships – and a variety of shared activities. So it’s not surprising that, according to a recent survey by online cruise travel agency cruise.co.uk, most solo travellers opt for…

REVIEWS With a spectacular light-filled multi-level dome, 29 restaurants and bars, a cool speakeasy and some amazing private suites, Sun Princess is one of most eagerly awaited ship launches this year. Carrying 4,300 passengers, this first new-generation, Sphere-class vessel is setting the standard high for future Princess Cruises’ ships. ESSENTIALS A list of superlatives and firsts go hand-in-hand with Sun Princess. The 4,300-passenger ship is the largest in the fleet, the line’s first vessel powered by eco-friendly LNG (liquefied natural gas) and the biggest cruise ship ever built in Italy. It’s also Princess Cruises’ first new-generation, Sphere-class vessel- and your first look at it will explain why. EXPERIENCE Designed throughout to let the sun and light shine in, and connect passengers with the sea, the stand-out feature on Sun Princess…